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Thursday, March 25, 2010

Repo Men

Be Sure To Pay In Full

[Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Liev Schreiber, Alica Braga]

A rare occasion today. I went to work early, planning a late show with the boys after work. Plans changed, movies were switched, the boys were available, then not. Finally, most of the planets aligned, some boys were able to come, and the original movie selection was on deck at a later time.

SYNOPSIS: In a near future, medical advances allow most any part of the body to be replaced... at a price. And if you can't pay the monthly installments and fall behind 90 days, then the repo men come to take back what the company's property. When a repossession job goes bad, one repo man wakes to find he is now a client with an artificial heart, and soon enough, finds himself unable to pay!

I love sci-fi movies, especially those in the near future. From the trailers and commercials, "Repo Men" fit that bill perfectly. I was hesitant about both Jude Law and Forest Whitaker in this type of movie, sci-fi and action together. Even with Whitaker's acting pedigree and Law's work, I was still worried. I should not have given it a second thought. Brutal, bloody and intriguing, this film delivers.

Like other genre films before it, "Repo Men" gives us a glimpse of what is and what could be. With a homage to "Blade Runner" in one of the early panning city shots, the world has failed and come back more capitalistic and self-absorbed... and dominated by the Pacific Rim. When the elementary school has its own dynamic billboard promoting a cola that's "jacked up", you know you are in a effed up society. A mix of "Blade Runner" and "Children of Men", the contrast of neon advertisement and crumbling thrown away decay is always a sign of what we are truly are, but always deny.

Jude Law stars as Remy, a premier repo man working for the "Union", a shady corporation that sells artificial organs on credit. Forest Whitaker joins him in the trade as his childhood friend, Jake. They receive paperwork to collect organs from clients who are 90 days past due on their payments, as well as tracking down extra commissions on their own. Law is buff, burly and all business as he expertly dispatches his clients in collections. Whitaker is just burly, but brings his "The Last King of Scotland" chops to bear. Ironically, the replacement of his real heart with the warranty version only serves to bring more life to the film, as Remy makes the realization of what his life has been about as he stares at it from the other side.

And if the film is teeming with life, it is tempered with exceptional blood-letting. Each scene of violence and stylized gore is "300" meets "The Matrix". And once the carnage is complete, the viseral aftermath is an affirmation of what is important. The film is balanced with a few laughs, a few 'oh crap' moments, great visuals, good story-telling and believable acting. I figured out the ending before it came, but the ride getting there was worth it.